Curriculum Alignment with Early Learning

1. An introduction to early learning standards and the program's vision for young children's learning
2. Identification of developmentally appropriate practices for teaching young children
3. An overview of a lesson plan for each of the following:
Literacy
Math
Science
Creative Arts
4. Details outlining the importance of play and socialization in young children's learning, growth, and development
5. Assessmentstrategies for the assessment of children's learning, growth, and development
6. Resource list to include a list of books, web pages, and/or other resources used to plan curriculum
7. Summary of the importance of early learning standards and well-planned activities, and how these foster young children's learning

Solution Preview

An introduction to early learning standards and the program's vision for young children's learning

YOUR introduction should focus on the purpose of possessing early learning standards that provide excellency in childhood learning while detailing YOUR program's vision that should be grounded in research on child development and learning. It is the student's responsibility to develop a vision for employing a framework promoting children's optimal learning and development. As a courtesy I will provide you with a journal article detailing the learning standards you are seeking. www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/.../position%20statement%20Web.pdf

Identification of developmentally appropriate practices for teaching young children:

When attempting to identify developmentally appropriate practices for teaching young children the teacher must be cognizant about child development and learning regarding age-related characteristics permitting the teacher to generally apply this knowledge for what practices would be appropriate for different age groups (NAEYC, 2009).

The teacher must also be cognizant of each child individually and what motivates this individual child to make plans and adjustments to ensure the most optimal learning and development for this child. The teacher must also be cognizant of the multiculturalism in most classes and how different social and cultural views shape the child's perspective of learning. These contextual factors should be factored in with other environmental factors mentioned in this section to formulate the best developmentally appropriate practices for teaching young children (NAEYC, 2009).

The teacher set the stage for the lesson plan in early childhood learning environments as well as the type of learning that occurs daily in your classroom. Therefore, you must establish a daily schedule on the first day of school. In most early childhood schools, classroom teachers are assigned to teach mathematics, social studies, science, and the English language arts (Ruetzer & Clark, 2011). The following examples can be used by YOU the student to formulate appropriate lesson plans pertinent to each subject.

Literacy
Divide literary blocks into four 30 minute segments focusing on word work, writing, fluency, and vocabulary/comprehension strategy instruction.
The first is word work, a reading instruction block for 30-minutes. This block assists students in building letter name/ sound knowledge, recognizing and decoding words, understanding the structure and meaning of words, spelling words, hearing the sounds of spoken words, and exploring concepts of print (Ruetzer & Clark, 2011).

The next 30-minute block consists of whole-group explicit instruction, specifically writing, which is intended to teach core elements of the writing curriculum. This block employs cognitive writing strategies, the writing processes, and writing conventions including grammar are taught. Teachers must appropriate time for students to engage in various types of writing, as well as engage in a variety of writing tasks (Ruetzer & Clark, 2011).

The next 30-minute block is fluency, which can be done using either whole- or small-group instruction. The teacher should demonstrate and model various aspects of reading fluency, including accuracy, rate, and prosody. The ...